Hurdles remain, but online police auction still in the works

Evidence and Crime Lab supervisor Sgt. Daniel Trimble shows items in the evidence storage room that will be auctioned off from the Tuscaloosa Police Department on Wednesday.

Dusty Compton | Tuscaloosa News

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 2:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 2:12 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | What seemed imminent last summer has taken longer than expected to come together, but city and police officials maintain that an auction for the Police Department’s unclaimed evidence and property will take place.

A meeting is planned in February for city attorneys and the Tuscaloosa Police Department to review the specifications and other details expected from an online auction company that will help dispose of the thousands of items that have accrued during the past two years.

“It’s still in the works,” said Tuscaloosa Police Sgt. Don Thompson, who has overseen the auctions since 1999.

There are a number of online auction services that can handle the sale and removal of the massive amounts of electronics, bicycles, hand tools and other items stored both at the Police Department’s headquarters and at an off-site location nearby.

Thompson said that four such companies have been identified as options and will likely be approached to submit bids to handle the TPD auction.

Before that can happen, though, the Office of the City Attorney will have to retool the city’s rules that relate to the sale and disposal of surplus property to allow for online auction services, said City Attorney Tim Nunnally.

Once the attorneys have completed that work, the City Council will then have to approve it.

“Nothing is set yet for the police auction,” Nunnally said, “but the city is working toward amending its policy to have an online auction.”

Meanwhile, the items and property stored in the Police Department’s storage and evidence locker will continue to grow. And, as a result, officers are forced to find new and creative locations to place them.

“We’re towing cars and finding property all the time,” Thompson said.

Sgt. Daniel Trimble, the Police Department’s supervisor of the crime lab and evidence locker, walked Wednesday among the stacks and shelves laden with an array of items that either were taken during or used for the commission of crimes.

Efforts have been made to find the proper owners, but when those attempts end in failure the items are disposed at auction.

Both Thompson and Trimble said an online auction would be ideal. From a logistics standpoint, it would reach a wider audience while eliminating the time police officers spend in planning and holding an auction.

Additionally, an online auction service would allow for the sale and disposal of items not sold at an auction held locally, such as knives, pistol grips and stocks that have been removed from rifles and shotguns.

Trimble said liability concerns prevent these items from being auctioned here.

The idea of an online auction was brought before the City Council’s Public Safety Committee in August, and officials believed at the time that the auction would be held soon.

But unforeseen delays, such as the required specifications and change in the city’s policies and codes, continually pushed back the auction date.

The city auction, which also includes surplus vehicles from the Police Department, the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation and other city services, is one of the most popular events staged by City Hall, and the highest-earning auction brought in about $123,000.

However, the auctions were put on hold after much of the disposed city property and seized evidence stored off 35th Street was damaged when the Richard A. Curry Facility took a direct hit from the April 27, 2011, tornado.

Among the items planned for sale in the upcoming auction are disposed city property, impounded cars and unclaimed evidence in criminal cases.

There are old police cars and vehicles seized from suspects, including the more than 120 vehicles in the city’s impound lot and more coming in every day.

There are trucks, buses and a garbage and waste treatment truck that was damaged in the tornado, as well as old equipment used by the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation, Tuscaloosa Parking and Transit Authority and Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority.

Power tools, hand tools, computers and other items recovered from burglaries and thefts will be for sale, and bicycles are one of the most common items recovered that are never claimed, as evidenced by two overflowing storage areas filled with them.

There are even small household items you wouldn’t expect, such as small boxes of laundry detergent, that were recovered in shoplifting cases and never claimed by the stores.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | What seemed imminent last summer has taken longer than expected to come together, but city and police officials maintain that an auction for the Police Department's unclaimed evidence and property will take place.</p><p>A meeting is planned in February for city attorneys and the Tuscaloosa Police Department to review the specifications and other details expected from an online auction company that will help dispose of the thousands of items that have accrued during the past two years.</p><p>“It's still in the works,” said Tuscaloosa Police Sgt. Don Thompson, who has overseen the auctions since 1999.</p><p>There are a number of online auction services that can handle the sale and removal of the massive amounts of electronics, bicycles, hand tools and other items stored both at the Police Department's headquarters and at an off-site location nearby.</p><p>Thompson said that four such companies have been identified as options and will likely be approached to submit bids to handle the TPD auction.</p><p>Before that can happen, though, the Office of the City Attorney will have to retool the city's rules that relate to the sale and disposal of surplus property to allow for online auction services, said City Attorney Tim Nunnally.</p><p>Once the attorneys have completed that work, the City Council will then have to approve it.</p><p>“Nothing is set yet for the police auction,” Nunnally said, “but the city is working toward amending its policy to have an online auction.”</p><p>Meanwhile, the items and property stored in the Police Department's storage and evidence locker will continue to grow. And, as a result, officers are forced to find new and creative locations to place them.</p><p>“We're towing cars and finding property all the time,” Thompson said.</p><p>Sgt. Daniel Trimble, the Police Department's supervisor of the crime lab and evidence locker, walked Wednesday among the stacks and shelves laden with an array of items that either were taken during or used for the commission of crimes.</p><p>Efforts have been made to find the proper owners, but when those attempts end in failure the items are disposed at auction.</p><p>Both Thompson and Trimble said an online auction would be ideal. From a logistics standpoint, it would reach a wider audience while eliminating the time police officers spend in planning and holding an auction.</p><p>Additionally, an online auction service would allow for the sale and disposal of items not sold at an auction held locally, such as knives, pistol grips and stocks that have been removed from rifles and shotguns.</p><p>Trimble said liability concerns prevent these items from being auctioned here.</p><p>The idea of an online auction was brought before the City Council's Public Safety Committee in August, and officials believed at the time that the auction would be held soon.</p><p>But unforeseen delays, such as the required specifications and change in the city's policies and codes, continually pushed back the auction date.</p><p>The city auction, which also includes surplus vehicles from the Police Department, the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation and other city services, is one of the most popular events staged by City Hall, and the highest-earning auction brought in about $123,000.</p><p>However, the auctions were put on hold after much of the disposed city property and seized evidence stored off 35th Street was damaged when the Richard A. Curry Facility took a direct hit from the April 27, 2011, tornado.</p><p>Among the items planned for sale in the upcoming auction are disposed city property, impounded cars and unclaimed evidence in criminal cases.</p><p>There are old police cars and vehicles seized from suspects, including the more than 120 vehicles in the city's impound lot and more coming in every day.</p><p>There are trucks, buses and a garbage and waste treatment truck that was damaged in the tornado, as well as old equipment used by the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation, Tuscaloosa Parking and Transit Authority and Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority.</p><p>Power tools, hand tools, computers and other items recovered from burglaries and thefts will be for sale, and bicycles are one of the most common items recovered that are never claimed, as evidenced by two overflowing storage areas filled with them.</p><p>There are even small household items you wouldn't expect, such as small boxes of laundry detergent, that were recovered in shoplifting cases and never claimed by the stores.</p>